some say it makes the world go round, some say that's absurd
by loversinfiniteness
Summary: Modern AU. Lizzy Bennet has only met Will Darcy twice before, but she is certain that she does not like him. Then, her sister gets engaged to his best friend, and she and Will are roped into the wedding planning. Suddenly, they're going to florists and picking out his suit together. But there's nothing going on between them. Really.
1. journeys end in lovers' meeting

It was at brunch that the course of Lizzy Bennet's life began to unveil itself.

It happened like this.

The tradition of Lizzy's fortnightly brunch with her sister Jane had begun two years ago. The first time, Jane brought news that she'd landed that brilliant job at the PR firm she'd wanted for years. Two weeks later, at a different restaurant, Lizzy announced that she had finally managed to secure funding for her PhD. Nothing amazing happened the next fortnight, or the one after that, but they kept up the brunch schedule, just in case something would.

Something did, five months later. Jane Bennet met her undeniable soulmate in Charlie Bingley, the kind of guy who could come off well on Tinder, although they actually met through Charlie's sister. After half a year, they were living together. Lizzy's life, on the other hand, did not yet have an undeniable soulmate in it, but she did have a cat named Wystan.

The restaurant they were at now, the scene of the turning point in Lizzy Bennet's life, was probably not the venue she would've chosen, had she'd known. "Why did you pick this one? I think I used that font in GCSE Art," she'd told Jane, last night, whilst scrolling through the restaurant's website.

"Well, it'll be a nice reminder," Jane had replied.

Lizzy had got a C.

But now, Jane's face was serious, and she had taken Lizzy's hand. "Lizzy, I want to tell you something."

Lizzy smiled. "And what is that, Jane?"

"Well," said Jane, looking down at the hand she'd placed over Lizzy's and blushing slightly. The ring sparkled in the light of the aggressively trendy overhanging lamps, and Lizzy's face broke into a grin.

"Oh, my God," said Lizzy. "Jane, I'm so happy for you! I'm going to hug you." She jumped up from her seat and flung her arms around her. "So Charlie finally did it then, huh?"

"He did," agreed Jane, as Lizzy released her and sat back down. "Oh, Lizzy, it was so wonderful. I'd not had the best day at work, and then I came home, and there were rose petals. In a trail, leading to our bedroom. And I walked in, and I was still carrying my bag, and a dripping umbrella, and Charlie was just standing there with all these candles around him, looking at me. It was the loveliest moment of my life."

"I'm sure you'll have many more lovely moments ahead," said Lizzy warmly.

"The ring is gorgeous, too," added Jane.

Lizzy looked at it. "Ah, rose gold. Very current."

Jane tried to tilt her head and give Lizzy a disapproving look, but she was smiling too much. "I won't even respond to that," said Jane airily. "I'm too happy."

Just then, the man who was the cause of this happy moment appeared behind Jane.

"Guess who," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Jane smiled and turned around to hug him. "Charlie," she said, in a voice of such love and joy that Lizzy wondered idly if she should just give up her season of singleness and go on a date.

In a brilliant moment of coincidence, another man, who had appeared with Charlie, spoke to Lizzy.

"Interesting I should find you here," he said.

Lizzy looked away from Jane and Charlie, deep in lovers' conversation, into the annoyingly handsome face of Will Darcy.

"Why's that?" she asked sharply.

He looked surprised at her question.

"I just — I seem to recall that you don't like eggs," he said, hastily. "And this place specialises in them."

Lizzy narrowed her eyes. "And how do you know that?"

Will Darcy opened his mouth to reply, but the universe took pity on him and Jane spoke instead.

"Anyway, Lizzy, what I was going to say, before Charlie interrupted our sisterly chat —" a pause, for an adoring look at her fiancé — "is if you would be willing to be my maid of honour."

Lizzy grinned. "It would really screw you over if I said no, wouldn't it?"

Instantly, Jane's lip quivered. "Please don't. Then I'd have to ask Lydia…"

"I shudder to think," said Lizzy. "Of course I'll be your maid of honour. I hope the best man's hot," she added, as an afterthought.

Charlie cleared his throat. "That would, er, depend on what you thought of Will."

A silence descended over the table, as everyone recalled Lizzy's opinion of Will. They had only met twice before, but the first time Will called her career aspirations 'unbeneficial to society' and Lizzy called him a 'corporate wanker', and the second, Will beat Lizzy at Mario Kart.

"Oh," she said faintly. "Of course."

Jane coughed delicately. "Anyway," she said. "Charlie and I want the wedding to be as soon as possible. I called around this morning, and found some places we were considering for the ceremony and reception. So we wanted to start looking at venues tomorrow. We'd love it if you both came. You know, so Mum wouldn't feel the need to. Please, Lizzy?"

Lizzy reminded herself that Jane's happiness was worth more than a few hours spent with someone she very much disliked. "OK, alright. Whatever you need."

"Will?" asked Charlie.

"Anything," said Will, firmly. "Of course."

"Fantastic," said Charlie. "Well, Jane and I are off to the Tate now."

"I've been dying to see the Alighiero Boetti exhibition," said Jane, and Lizzy and Charlie exchanged doubtful looks.

Will clapped Charlie's shoulder. "Enjoy yourselves. See you tomorrow."

"I'll text you the details," added Charlie.

Goodbyes were exchanged, and Jane and Charlie left. This left Lizzy and Will, and a half-finished mimosa, which Lizzy snatched up, to delay talking.

"So," said Will, and sat down in Jane's seat.

Lizzy sipped her mimosa.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

She gave him a look.

"Right," he said, flushing. "I know we don't have the best history —"

"You called my job 'unbeneficial to society'," Lizzy agreed, looking at him over her glass.

"Right," he said again. "I'm sorry. It was in the heat of the moment and I didn't mean it like that. Can we just put all of that behind us? I'll tolerate you, you'll tolerate me. We'll be in each other's lives forever now. We should start to accommodate that."

Lizzy narrowed her eyes. "You've had time to prepare this speech, haven't you?"

"Jesus," said Will. "That doesn't mean it isn't genuine."

Lizzy smiled. "Alright, alright." She held out her hand. "I'll even shake on it."

She was not prepared for the weird electricity that sparked when Will Darcy's hand touched hers.

 _Shit_.

This oughtn't have been a surprise to her. The first time they'd met, at Charlie's birthday party, she'd thought he was cute and been bitterly disappointed when she overheard him telling his sister about how lousy academia was as a career. She had jumped into that conversation, obviously, and it hadn't ended in a way Lizzy was proud of.

"Anyway, I've got to go," she said, standing up, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"I'll walk you out," said Will.

Unable to think of a polite way to decline, especially after their newly-drawn truce, she nodded. Two painfully silent minutes later, they were at the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, and dashed out.


	2. the silver answer rang

"You're definitely OK with Will being there tomorrow?" asked Jane, at half past nine in the evening that day.

This was ridiculous. Jane should have been off celebrating her new engagement, not on the phone with Lizzy, worried about her sister spending a day with someone she didn't like. And whilst Lizzy had ranted to Jane about Will Darcy before, Jane's instinctive consideration for others was making Lizzy feel bad.

"Jane, I promise you I'm fine with it," said Lizzy.

"It's just, I know you really don't like him…"

"It'll probably be one of the most awkward few hours of my life," said Lizzy cheerfully, "but that could also be fun, in a kind of masochistic way. For one day only, my life will be a Dostoevsky novel."

"That's another thing. Lizzy, didn't you say he implied studying literature was worthless?"

Lizzy paused. "Well, I never said I liked him. But the shouting match at Charlie's birthday was definitely a one-off. Jane, you don't need to worry about this. We're never going to love each other, but I promise I can be around him for a few hours and no one will die."

There was another pause. "This has been a very sudden change," commented Jane, casually.

Lizzy groaned. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you? Fine. I didn't _exactly_ hate him."

"I knew it," said Jane, with her signature modest triumph which made people genuinely pleased for her.

"Yes, well, there we have it. And he apologised today and it sounded genuine, so I have decided to let bygones be bygones."

"Lizzy, you're a saint," declared Jane. "And... now I have to go."

"Engagement calls?" asked Lizzy.

She could almost _see_ Jane's blush. "Maybe. See you tomorrow, eight-thirty, Will's driving! Love you."

"Love you too," she replied, before hanging up.

* * *

Lizzy was relieved when it was Jane who texted that they were outside her flat, thus eliminating her bad dream of only Will, herself and an otherwise empty car. However, she did give Jane a suspicious look when she saw that the passenger seat was still free.

The advantages of the passenger seat, though, were that sitting in it, she could read the title of the book stored in the car's side pocket.

"This is your car?" asked Lizzy.

He glanced at her. "Yes. Surprised?"

Lizzy shrugged. "Just unusual. You might be the only person under 30 I know who has a car."

"Soon you won't know any," said Charlie, looking up from the folder Jane had shoved into his hands. "Will's teetering on the brink of old age."

"You're no spring chicken yourself," responded Will, and Lizzy tried not to laugh at the antediluvian phrase.

" _Silas Marner_ 's an interesting choice," said Lizzy, after a few moments.

She could've been wrong, but she would've sworn she saw his mouth quirk up.

"I'm working my way up to _Middlemarch_ ," he confessed.

Lizzy grinned, and contented herself with two civil exchanges with a man who, a week ago, she would have avoided entirely.

* * *

"What do you think?" asked Jane, after they arrived and were walking towards the entrance, with Will and Charlie behind them.

Lizzy stared impassionately at the Georgian country house. "It looks very pleased with itself."

Jane smiled. "There's a lot of gravitas, isn't there?" she asked. "Charlie's sister Louisa had her wedding here, so I thought I ought to do her the courtesy of considering it."

From behind them, Charlie rolled his eyes. "Jane, you and Louisa are very different people."

"Thank goodness for that," said Jane frankly, and everyone laughed.

Inside, they were met by a woman named Daisy, whose levels of enthusiasm on a Sunday morning Lizzy admired greatly.

"Crawford Manor has plenty of room, of course, so don't worry about that," said Daisy, leading them down a corridor. "In fact, we actually hosted a double wedding last year."

Lizzy and Will immediately moved further apart. "Oh no, we're not the ones planning a wedding," said Lizzy quickly, gesturing between them and trying to strike the right tone of confusion and distaste. "We're just here to watch."

"Oh, right! Well, we hope you'll consider us for your ceremony too, whenever you come to it!" said Daisy.

Lizzy opened her mouth to speak, by Will cut in. "You're mistaken," he said. "Lizzy and I are not in a relationship."

There was an awkward silence, and Daisy's hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry for presuming," she squeaked. "I haven't offended you, have I?"

"No, of course not!" said Lizzy, but let Jane and Charlie take over the conversation to smooth out the tension. She and Will fell a few paces behind, as Daisy began telling Jane about the catering.

"You didn't have to say that quite so determinedly," murmured Lizzy.

Will turned to her. "How would you rather I said it?"

Lizzy grinned, and adopted a winsome manner. "Oh, I don't know. Regretfully, perhaps? Wistfully?"

"We're not in a melodrama."

The grin on Lizzy's face grew brighter. "I like to pretend I am, sometimes. Taking myself too seriously usually means I end up doing the opposite."

"Very paradoxical," agreed Will, after a moment, then sped up his pace to catch up with the tour.

They finished an hour later.

"Well, you were right," said Jane to Charlie, as they got in the car. "This place is lovely, but definitely not right for us."

"I like it," declared Will. "The layout of the gardens is interesting."

"Maybe you should bookmark this for when you get married, then," said Charlie. "Just hope it isn't Daisy showing you around again. She'll be heartbroken it isn't Lizzy you're marrying."

"Well, she'd be the only one," said Lizzy sweetly, and everyone laughed — that is, if Will's half-smile counted as a laugh. Lizzy did count it, and it felt like an achievement.

* * *

The next venue, Elton Gardens, was probably the most pretentious place Lizzy had ever been to, and that was coming from someone who regularly visited art galleries.

"I'm afraid we don't do double weddings," said Lucy, their guide, two minutes into their tour.

"Good for you," said Lizzy. "We don't either."

Jane shot her a look. "It's just Charlie and I getting married," she added, linking her arm through his and smiling adorably at him.

Lucy paused on the top of the stairs. "Is that so," she said, and gave Will the kind of look usually seen in nightclubs at closing time. Lizzy rolled her eyes.

"You can't be having a good time," said Lizzy to Will later, as Jane noted down details about the venue.

"Because two random women today have thought we were in love and engaged?" asked Will.

"And I'm not really your type," Lizzy agreed. "But who said anything about love?"

Will stared at the flower arrangement in front of them. "Well, I wouldn't marry you for money."

A pause, as Lizzy decided how to react. "You have enough of that yourself," she agreed, lightly.

Will's eyebrows shot up. " _Shit_ , no, Lizzy, I didn't mean that." He swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Lizzy nodded, then her face stretched out into its usual, teasing smile. As they stood side by side, she peered at his side profile and tried not to admire the sharpness of his jaw, the cut of his cheekbones. "But I agree: love is the only thing that _could_ induce us to get married. Since, you know, we're so different."

Abruptly, Will turned to look at her. "Are we?"

With that, the mood of the conversation shifted again. It had been teasing, then frosty, then teasing again, which were things Lizzy could deal with. But now it was teetering on the brink of deeply personal.

"Well, I'm a lowly fledgling academic," began Lizzy, "and you're a hot shot corporate lawyer."

Will cut in. "I don't think that's lowly."

Lizzy was about to reply: whether it was going to be teasing or not, she hadn't decided; but then Jane and Charlie came over as they were ready to leave.

"All done?" asked Lizzy, as they walked out.

Charlie grimaced. "Very much so. Jane won't say it because we're still here, but she hates it." He turned to his fiancée, who was flipping through her notebook. "I mean, as much as you could hate anything," he said, and kissed her cheek.

Jane smiled and checked her watch. "Maybe. So our next appointment is in twenty minutes. Is it alright if we have lunch after that? Then we'll see the fourth, and we'll let you two be free."

"We're very excited about the next place," said Charlie. "Jane's had her eye on it for months and did some supreme networking to get this tour."

Jane blushed. "Some things need more preparation than others," and Charlie laughed again, swinging his arm around her shoulders, unmistakably in love.

* * *

Thankfully, the drive to the next venue was short, and Jane, bless her, included Lizzy in her conversation with Charlie, so she wasn't forced to wheedle sentences out of Will. Not that this was something she would hate, she realised. Will Darcy was an excruciating conversationalist, yes, but at least he wasn't boring.

"We're here!" said Jane. They got out of the car. "Oh, my goodness. I love it already. Charlie?"

"No objections here," he said, grinning broadly, and he and Jane shared a loving look.

The venue Jane had set her heart on, The Thousands, was a hotel in the middle of the countryside. To Lizzy, it looked almost exactly the same as the first place, but the difference in Jane's expression looking at this, compared to Crawford Manor, was marked.

They were met by Flora, whom Jane had spoken to on the phone.

"You must be Jane," she said, and they shook hands. "And the groom-to-be?"

"Pleased to meet you," said Charlie. He and Jane exchanged another dopey smile.

"Ah, the happy couple," sighed Flora. "Not that you two aren't a happy couple either!" she exclaimed laughingly, turning to Lizzy and Will.

From the corner of Lizzy's eye, she saw Jane hide a giggle. "Just the maid of honour and best man," corrected Lizzy.

Flora's smile turned sly as she nodded. "Ah, I see."

Lizzy and Will exchanged a glance: Lizzy, amused; Will, confused.

"Well, let's start at the beginning," said Flora, and Jane began scribbling in her notebook.

* * *

"That was definitely the one," said Jane. "I'm so excited! Everything's coming together so well."

"It's barely begun yet," said Charlie warningly, but smiled at her anyway.

They were having lunch in a slightly grim, off-the-beaten-track pub that Will's GPS had managed to pick up. Jane and Charlie had insisted on paying for Lizzy and Will.

"We dragged you out here," said Charlie. "And so far, everyone's wrongly assumed you were together. We owe you something."

"That is a good point," Lizzy conceded. "Why _did_ you ask us to come?"

"I was afraid Mum might get too involved," said Jane.

Lizzy narrowed her eyes, but accepted it. "And Charlie?"

He sighed dramatically. "My sister, Caroline. She'll want to know every detail, but if I bring Will, then she'll have a perfect excuse not to ask me and still get the details. Also, Will has a car."

"I hate you," said Will, the vicious words in the flat tone instantly recognisable as an exchange from a deep and lasting friendship.

"What's so bad about Caroline?" asked Lizzy, unashamedly curious.

There was a silence.

"I like her," ventured Jane.

"Jane, I love you, and you don't have to say that," said Charlie. "Caroline... she's, well, very sure of herself. And what she wants. Which means that she usually gets it. Except Will, that is."

Will stared down at his grilled lamb steak, and cleared his throat. Lizzy resolved to have a good, thorough internet stalk of Caroline Bingley that evening.

* * *

Jane (and Charlie's) heart was already set on The Thousands, but they went to see Gardiner House anyway.

"It's lovely," breathed Lizzy, as they got out of the car. "Jane, this place is so much better than that hotel. Look at the trees! And God help me, there's a brook. I want to live here."

"Alright, Anne Shirley," said Jane. Then, slyly, she added: "Maybe you should have it for _your_ wedding."

They went inside, and were met by a woman called Cynthia.

Lizzy saw Cynthia's eyes flicking between the two couples. "We're not together," she said quickly, motioning the space between she and Will.

Cynthia nodded. "So _you're_ Jane and Charlie then," she said, turning to them. "Welcome to Gardiner House. As you can see from the neoclassicism around you, we were built in the 18th century…"

Jane, who had politeness in her bones, took out her notebook anyway.

* * *

"Will, back me up on this," said Lizzy, lounging in the passenger seat. "Gardiner House was lovely, and Jane and Charlie should get married there."

"Lizzy, I didn't even ask if they allowed candles! Will, don't be swayed by her deceptively casual tone."

Charlie laughed. "Tread carefully, my friend."

Will shrugged. "I agree with Lizzy. Gardiner House was lovely."

"Thank you!" said Lizzy. "Come on, Jane, there was a fountain! With water, not chocolate, like at your hotel."

"The Thousands is so romantic," said Jane.

"Pfft," said Lizzy. "Gardiner House has a _secret garden._ "

"So did The Thousands," said Charlie, amusedly. "You just like yours because it's the only place which didn't think you and Will were a couple."

Lizzy decided to play melodramatic. "Alas, that isn't so. She gave me a wink when we left. She probably thinks we're pining for each other."

Jane and Charlie burst into laughter, and Lizzy sneaked another look at Will for his reaction. His face was completely impassive.

They arrived outside Jane and Charlie's apartment.

"We'll see you later then," said Charlie. "And tell Georgie I said hello."

"Thank you both so much!" added Jane. "Lizzy, give my love to Charlotte."

Lizzy waved to them until they disappeared into the building. Then, she sat back in her seat, as the silence immediately grew louder without them.

"Charlotte's my flatmate," Lizzy offered. Will didn't respond, but Lizzy supposed he wouldn't unless he was asked a direct question. "Who's Georgie?"

Will's eyes flickered briefly to Lizzy. "My sister."

Lizzy nodded, and another silence, somehow worse than the first, replaced it.

"Did you really like the last place best?" asked Lizzy, when she couldn't take it any more.

"Yes," said Will shortly. "Why would I lie?"

Lizzy shrugged. "Maybe you just didn't care that much."

They came to a traffic stop, and Will turned to look at her.

"Did _you_ really like the last place best?"

Lizzy laughed. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

Will shrugged. "You're often controversial."

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, as they started moving again. "You think I deliberately take any chance I get to have the contrary opinion?"

"Not in that way," said Will in a frustrated tone, keeping his eyes fixed on the road. "Now you're deliberately misunderstanding me."

"Oh, for fuck's sake. Maybe if it's so easy to misunderstand you, you should make yourself clearer!"

"Or you should be better at inferring!" Wryly: "That's what reading literature is all about, right?"

Lizzy stared at him, then turned her head to stare out of the window instead. "I can't believe we're having this argument. And now you've managed to bring my job into it! Tell me, Will," she said, generous with the sarcasm. "Doesn't a lawyer need to be good at inferring too?"

There was a silence. Then miraculously, he laughed, and the tension dissipated.

"Yes, I suppose they do," he conceded, and Lizzy began laughing too.

"I'm sorry," she said, and thought herself rather generous for being the first to offer an apology. "I do know what you mean, I think."

"No, I should be apologising," said Will. "I don't think you're controversial for the sake of it." He paused, and Lizzy was about to take the small victory of ending the day on neutral ground. Then: "Don't tell Charlie and Jane, but I wouldn't mind doing this again."

Lizzy turned to him, her face in mock surprise and her mind in genuine. "My company wasn't too bad, then?"

His mouth twitched. "No, I just _really_ liked the last place."

Lizzy burst out laughing. "It's good of you to be honest."

There was a relatively contented silence for the last five minutes it took to get to Lizzy's flat.

"This is me, then," she said, when they pulled up outside. She undid her seatbelt and rummaged around for her bag. "Thanks for the ride."

"It's no problem," he replied.

There was a beat, and Lizzy paused. There was something expectantly romantic about sitting together in the front seats of the car, like Lloyd Dobler and Diane Court, or those annoying teenagers in the movie Lizzy watched last week.

"I'll see you later," she said, after the moment refused to pass and Will seemed content to let it stretch on and on. "Have a nice evening."

"Goodbye," said Will. Lizzy jumped out and almost ran into her building.

"Good day?" called Charlotte, as Lizzy hung her bag on a peg and took off her shoes. "Also, Earl Grey or fancy mint?"

"Earl Grey. And it was weird," replied Lizzy. "I think I just had a moment with Will Darcy."

"I knew he liked you!" said Charlotte, as she poured milk and pushed Lizzy's mug towards her. "Did he walk you home? Even though it's still daylight, but he insisted anyway?"

Lizzy made a face at her. "He drove, actually," she said, and Charlotte raised her eyebrows. "I know. _He has a car._ "

Charlotte whistled softly. "Well, damn."

Lizzy paused on her way to her room. "He doesn't exactly like me though," she said.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Sure. Alright, go. JSTOR awaits."

"I'll see you on the other side," said Lizzy, as she trudged into her room, clutching her tea.

* * *

It was almost ten o'clock when Lizzy finished her reading. She checked her phone one final time for the night, and saw a text from Jane.

 _Thanks so much for coming, you're an angel. Was it alright with Will?_

And just like that, she was thinking about him again.

 _Honestly Jane, it's no problem,_ she typed. _And yeah, we've settled our differences, I think. Stop worrying about me!_

Then she turned off her phone and stuck in her charger.

So, she no longer disliked Will. They could be friendly. She would happily do a repeat of today, if Jane asked. Which she probably would.

 _Do I want her to?_ thought Lizzy.

 _No, of course not._

 _Well, it means more interacting with Will. And Will is — fine, he's hot. But that's the only reason._

 _Anyway, he doesn't even like me._


	3. a glimpse through an interstice caught

A fortnight later, the guests had all received invitations, Jane's dress had been discovered at a sample sale Caroline Bingley had just happened to be at (probably planning ahead for her wedding to Will, Lizzy thought disparagingly) and Lizzy was, once again, at brunch.

"Did you get the pictures of the colour scheme I sent you?" asked Jane, as she daintily picked apart her vegan muffin. She looked marginally more stressed than a fortnight ago, but she was still as fresh-faced and English rose-like as ever. Lizzy, on the other hand, had decided that _her_ wedding planning, if she ever had cause for one, would turn her into a dark under-eyed mess.

"Various blues, blush-pink, grey," recited Lizzy. She gulped down her coffee. "And yes, I saw the Pinterest board."

"You're a star," said Jane. "Thanks so much for doing this. I would never have asked if I didn't have to, but Mum insisted on coming down to see the venue and have lunch and I said we'd take her."

Lizzy gave her a sympathetic look. "Then you probably have the worse day ahead of you."

Jane responded with a reproving one.

"Actually, why am I doing this again?" asked Lizzy. "Do we not trust Will to pick out his suit on his own?"

Jane looked hesitant, and stared down at her plate.

"Jane Bennet," said Lizzy, warningly.

"I'm sorry!" said Jane. "But Charlie and I can't go with him, and Caroline said she could, but I don't think Will likes her very much. He glared at her when she offered. So somehow, you were pushed into it."

"He's always glaring," said Lizzy dismissively, but it annoyed her that Will was using _her_ as a shield from Caroline Bingley. Lizzy had formed a fairly negative opinion of Caroline — admittedly drawn almost exclusively from her Instagram captions — but that wasn't an excuse for Will to hide behind Lizzy. "And I suppose the cake tasting reservation was too valuable to lose?"

"Exactly!" said Jane. "You're a lifesaver, Lizzy. Besides," she added. "I don't think you should dismiss Will like that." She lowered her voice. "I think he likes you."

" _What_?" She said this a little too loudly, and smiled blandly at the faces which turned to look at her. "Where did you get that from?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Jane, airily. "There's just something about you two. A kind of awkwardness that comes from liking someone more than you're comfortable with."

"Oh, not you too," said Lizzy. "It was bad enough with all those venue guides. Jane, I'm very happy for you that you're seeing the world through rose pink — blush pink — glasses," she said, waving her phone with the Pinterest board on screen. "But sometimes awkwardness just means that: awkwardness."

At that moment, Charlie appeared through the doorway with Will, and Jane waved them over. Charlie smiled at Jane as he wrapped his arms around her, whilst Will stood appropriately distant, nodded at Lizzy and Jane, and took out his phone.

"The wifi's password protected," said Lizzy, helpfully.

Will stuck his phone back in his pocket.

* * *

"So, why are you buying a new suit for a tiny, short-notice wedding?" asked Lizzy, as they walked to somewhere fancy on Savile Row. "I mean, you're not the groom."

Will glanced at her briefly. "I didn't have anything that matched the colour scheme."

Lizzy burst out laughing.

"Oh, you're serious," she said, after he didn't join in.

"Mostly," he agreed. "Jane is very stressed. I thought I should do whatever I could to make this a little easier for her."

"Oh," said Lizzy again, but this time it was lighter. She supposed it went without saying that he'd never rent a suit.

They arrived at the tailor, where they were greeted by a man wearing an honest-to-God bowler hat.

"Mr. Darcy!" he said, officiously. "Right on time." He shook Will's hand ferociously. "I trust Miss Darcy is in good health?"

"My sis — "

He waved his hand. "A absurd question you need not answer. Your dear aunt often reminds me that constitution is a matter of the mind just as much as of the body, and I never saw a livelier girl than Miss Darcy. It is an observation Lady Catherine quite agrees with. No, forgive me; I should say that I agree with _her_ excellent views — "

"Lady?" whispered Lizzy.

"Daughter of an earl," Will whispered back. "Bill, this is Elizabeth Bennet. We're here to pick out a suit."

"Of course. I forget your time is more precious than mine." Lizzy was alarmed that he said this without an ounce of sarcasm. "It is an honour to meet one of Mr. Darcy's friends, Miss Bennet."

"Pleased to meet you too," said Lizzy, and held out her hand to shake. She did not expect that Bill would bend over and kiss it, but judging from the curve formed on Will's mouth, he'd seen it coming.

"Your usual tea, I suppose, Mr. Darcy?" asked Bill. "And what will the lady have?"

"The same, thanks," said Lizzy. Bill motioned for them to sit, then bowed and left, and Lizzy pounced. "Tell me everything."

Will sat down on the sofa. "Rosings and Park is our family tailor," he said. "We've been coming here for years. And Bill is… Bill."

"Years?" asked Lizzy. "How many weddings do you buy a new suit for?"

"I needed uniform for school too. And now, for work."

"For school? Where did you even — oh, of course. I should've known."

Will sat up stiffly. "Lots of my friends were on scholarship," he said.

There was a pause.

"I never said they weren't," she said slowly.

Will nodded, a bit embarrassed, and they sat in silence until Bill appeared.

"Your teas, Mr. Darcy, Miss Bennet."

Lizzy took a sip. Of course he drank loose leaf.

"Mr. Darcy. I have cultivated a selection of fabrics, patterns and buttons based on the information relayed to me."

"That's great, Bill," said Will. "I'll go with whatever you recommend."

At these words, Bill seemed to glow with happiness. He proceeded to talk Will through cut, fabric and trimming, whilst Lizzy gazed at the wood-panelled walls and gorgeous fireplace.

"Now onto the matter of colour. It is my professional opinion that this muted grey would fulfill the requirements of the suit — "

"Splendid," said Will.

" — But the tie ought to match the lady's dress. Miss Bennet, would you do me a service? I would request you describe the exact blue of your dress."

"Oh, I haven't bought it yet," she said. "But I think…" She had her eye on something she saw last week, and began describing the shade of blue that had managed to fit into Jane's colour scheme and still be a colour one could find a dress in.

Bill produced a folder that might have contained every colour on the visible spectrum, and opened it to the blue section. "I do believe I have pinpointed the shade," he said, and gestured to a page.

"That's exactly it," said Lizzy in wonderment. Will peered over and imagined Lizzy in that colour, looking ethereal, but he suspected that was due to her, and not the colour of her dress.

"This tie matches exactly," said Bill, presenting it.

Will took one look at the tie and knew he'd never wear it again. But it was to match with Lizzy, he reminded himself, feeling like he was back in Sixth Form and being forced by his girlfriend to wear a purple bow tie to prom. The difference was that this time, he wanted to do it.

"Perfect," said Will, only a little faintly. "You're a genius, Bill."

"Always a pleasure, Mr. Darcy. Delightful meeting you, Miss Bennet. Convey my regards to Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy."

"Of course," said Will smoothly, as they stood up to leave.

"I must insist that you stay for lunch," began Bill. "Lady Catherine is arriving, and — "

"No, thank you," said Will firmly. "Lizzy and I have a cake tasting we can't miss."

"But one's aunt must take precedence…"

Lizzy exchanged a look with Will. "Thanks very much, but we can't," she said firmly.

This seemed to compute with Bill, and he relinquished them from his domain.

* * *

"How long do we have to get there?" asked Lizzy, as they stepped out of the shop.

Will checked his watch. "Half an hour. We can make it on the Tube."

Lizzy gave him a sideways look. "Public transport?" she asked, in mock horror.

"Georgie's got my car," explained Will, apparently missing her teasing. "Unless you'd prefer a taxi?"

"No, the Tube's good," said Lizzy, hurriedly. She wasn't prepared to have another fight over being allowed to pay her half.

After walking from the station, they entered the cake shop: a Parisian-inspired, vegan spot Jane had briefly worked at, and were taken to a table filled with cake. They sat down and Lizzy pulled out a notebook in which she'd recorded Jane's numerous cake caveats in table format, and tore out the page.

"These are the things we have to work around," said Lizzy, rearranging plates to make room for her paper.

Will looked at the table Lizzy had painstakingly drawn, which contained every cake they were tasting against all eight pieces of criteria Jane had set out, and tried not to feel a rush of affection caused by something so mundane.

"We should get to work then."

They managed to find three flavours that would be acceptable when they finished. Lizzy was triple-checking the prices, and Will was eating the chocolate flavours, which had been avoided on account of Jane's irrational dislike for chocolate.

"You should try this."

Lizzy looked up from the booklet of cake descriptions and saw Will pushing a plate of something chocolate towards her.

"Oh, that is good," she said, digging in her fork. "It's a shame Jane doesn't like chocolate." She turned the page. "It's called 'Choc Colette'," she said, reading off the card. "Clever."

"Choc Colette," Will repeated amusedly. "Georgie has her novels on a bookshelf, but I don't know if she's ever read them."

That was the second time Will had mentioned his sister today, and Lizzy decided that two mentions was enough to ask him about it. "How old is your sister?"

"Twenty," Will said. "She's in her second year at the Royal Academy," he continued proudly.

"What's she studying?" she asked.

"Piano solo, mainly," he replied. "But next year she's going to do an elective on Haydn. He's underappreciated, apparently, and Georgie's going to bring him back into fashion."

Lizzy thought back to her own piano lessons, forced on her by her mother. She'd lasted two years before deciding that on Tuesday evenings, she'd rather play football.

"She started playing when she was four," continued Will. "Our mother taught her to begin with. I think part of why she loves it so much is because — "

He stopped, abruptly, and Lizzy realised how close he'd come to telling her something very personal.

She changed the topic. "I'm a horrific musician," she said, brightly. "I never had the patience for scales, or for learning to read the notes properly. My sister Mary is quite musical, though," she continued. "She plays the bassoon. And contrabassoon, God help us all."

Will laughed, and their eyes met in a sparkling, light-headed moment. It was like she was sharing a secret meant for him alone and he understood perfectly — which was ridiculous, because she'd complained about Mary's music to scores of people.

"I didn't know you had another sister," said Will presently.

Lizzy laughed. "There's five of us. Kitty and Lydia are the two youngest. Lydia's in her first year at uni — she's doing sociology. Kitty's in her third — "

And then her phone rang.

"Hi, Jane!" She pointed aggressively at her torn notebook page and motioned for Will to open the booklet. "How's Mum and Dad? Yeah, good, we're just finishing up. You've got three choices: white chocolate and raspberry, walnut or lemon zest? Well, chocolate, but you don't like that. OK… OK… OK… So lemon zest? Great! How's Charlie doing? Of course, of course, the ridiculous man. The only good one left, and you snatched him up — joking, Jane, I love you both. And on that depressing note, I should get back… bye! Yes, yes, got it. Love you!"

Lizzy stuffed her phone into her bag. "We're going for lemon zest," she said, dryly.

Will nodded and motioned for the hostess. They left with an order of a monstrously large cake with lemon zest filling and several decorations, but that did not include cake toppers, thanks to the shared determination of Lizzy and Will.

"So," she said, as they stepped out of the cake shop.

"So."

"Do you want to get lunch?" asked Will abruptly. "I — know a great place near here. They do sushi."

"Sushi," repeated Lizzy. She checked the time - almost two - and thought back to the presentation she had to give on Tuesday which she really ought to get home for, then thought: _fuck it._ "Sure. Where are we going?"

"A few doors down, the way we came," said Will, and started down the road. Lizzy hurried to catch up with him.

"You don't strike me as a sushi type of person," said Lizzy, as they sat down. It was a lovely restaurant, she had to admit, and looked incredibly expensive. She mentally calculated the damage it would do to her bank account.

"I'm not," said Will. "But I like it here," he added.

"I've never been here before," said Lizzy. "But this is exactly how I want to decorate my kitchen-dining room. All this exposed wood… hey, are you laughing at me?"

"Absolutely not," said Will, straight-faced. "Georgie enjoys mental interior design, too. She has a castle, I think. And several studio apartments."

Lizzy laughed. "I've only got enough imagination for a London flat."

Then the waiter came, and Lizzy ordered the cheapest thing on the menu.

"This is actually really good," she said, after she'd taken a cautious bite. The only sushi she'd had before was on awkward dates: Jamie in year 12, Patrick in first year, Rupert in second, so she hadn't formed a very good opinion of it. But this stuff was good.

"How — "

"So — "

They both laughed, and Will motioned for Lizzy to go first.

"Oh, it's nothing. You were saying?"

"How were Jane and Charlie doing?"

"Really good," said Lizzy. "Mum loves Charlie, of course."

"Everyone does," Will agreed lightly.

"He's charmed my whole family," said Lizzy. "Even Mary likes him, because he genuinely enjoys the contrabassoon."

"I suppose everyone's opinion matters when you're in a big family," said Will.

"Not really," said Lizzy cheerfully. "I've dated lots of people who've been met with disapproval. On purpose, sometimes."

"But Jane is marrying Charlie," Will pointed out. "That's more - " He cut himself off, aware of his words in a way that was new and almost certainly brought about by spending time with Lizzy Bennet.

"You mean," she said, rescuing him, "that's more serious than me dating people. You're right," she continued. "I love my family, and I'd never _marry_ someone they genuinely hated." She caught herself. This was terrible first date conversation — well, all right, not a date. But a first something, at any rate, and she didn't know why she was talking about marriage with Will Darcy.

His phone buzzed, and he immediately opened it.

 _Definitely not a date, then._

"Who is it?" asked Lizzy.

"My aunt," said Will, and Lizzy raised her eyebrows. "Lady Catherine. She's angry that I missed lunch, and wants to see me."

"I don't mind if you go," said Lizzy politely, but she was more fascinated with who on earth Lady Catherine thought she was. What kind of woman got angry at her nephew for avoiding lunch, when that lunch hadn't even been scheduled in advance and came at an inconvenient time?

"Georgie's with her," said Will. "I should go and make it more tolerable for her."

"Right," said Lizzy, bewildered. "It's fine, really. Go."

"I'd rather stay," said Will, but he was standing up anyway. He pulled out his wallet and left a wad of notes on the table. "That should cover everything. I'm so sorry about this, but you don't know my aunt — she'll be even more irritated if I don't go now."

"Really, it's fine," Lizzy repeated.

"I'll see you later," he said, and left.

Lizzy stared at the cash he left on the table — far too much, of course — and back at her sushi. Had he really left her _because_ his aunt had summoned him, and taken his sister hostage? She wouldn't have believed it before today, but having met Bill, she couldn't be sure. And beneath the outright confusion, there was also a sting of hurt that he'd really left her _for his aunt_.

"I can't make him out," she said, and finished her sushi.

* * *

"Where've you been?" asked Charlotte, as Lizzy walked into the kitchen.

"Sushi," she replied.

Charlotte waited.

"With Will Darcy," Lizzy added. "Then," she said, placing her bag on the table with more force than necessary, "he ditched me for his aunt."

Charlotte choked on her mango slices. "You went on a date with Will Darcy?"

"Not a date!" insisted Lizzy, as she moved to put the kettle on and climbed on a stool to reach the sugar in the cupboard. "He left for his aunt, remember. His aunt!"

"She might be a real bitch," reasoned Charlotte. "More interestingly, you don't even like sushi. You endured something you don't even _like_ to spend more time with a guy. Who is _Will Darcy_."

Lizzy sat down and covered her face with her hands. "I know," she replied, miserably. "I didn't want to suggest another place because what if he was only in it for the sushi, and not me? Not everywhere has sushi. But there's plenty of 24-year-old grad students with a slightly insulting sense of humour. And also, the sushi turned out to be really good, so maybe I do like sushi after all, or at least that particular kind of sushi, and I've just been put off sushi by my past experiences with it, but those past experiences don't reflect on all sushi — "

"Now you're making a metaphor when there clearly isn't one," said Charlotte. "Just tell me exactly what happened."

Lizzy sighed. "We finish the cake tasting, and he suggests we go for sushi. I say yes. We go to the sushi place. It's surprisingly good. Then, in the middle of a conversation, he gets a text. He says it's his aunt, and honestly, I believe him. His aunt is holding his sister hostage and Will says he's going to go, to make it less awful for his sister. I believe that too. Is there something wrong with me? That I'm believing all his excuses? They sound so bad, but I feel like they're so bad they can't possibly be made up."

"Carry on with the story," said Charlotte.

"Right," said Lizzy. "He says he'd rather stay, but dumps too much money on the table and leaves anyway. I finish the sushi, and am now thirty pounds richer. Not that I'm going to keep it," she added.

"Right," said Charlotte. "So what did you talk about?"

"His sister," said Lizzy. "Interior design. And — _oh_."

"There it is," said Charlotte.

"Marriage," said Lizzy, miserably. "But not with him! God, no. Why would I even — anyway."

"So in the middle of a conversation about marriage, he leaves you for his aunt, and doesn't attempt to reschedule."

"Oh, God," said Lizzy, as the kettle finished boiling. "Why didn't I realise that? I thought it was all about his goddamn aunt, who by the way, sounds like an complete _pill_ — "

"You want my advice?"

"I'll get it even if I don't," said Lizzy.

Charlotte gave her a severe look. "You forget about what you said, because it's not that bad. You figure out what your deal is with Will."

"We don't have a deal," said Lizzy. "We're two people who used to strongly dislike each other, who've been thrown together by their sibling and best friend and are now amiable."

"Right."

Lizzy dumped a teaspoon of sugar in her tea. "It's fine," she said. "He'll probably have forgotten by the next time I see him. I don't imagine I occupy that much of his thoughts."

"Oh, Lizzy," said Charlotte. "If only the rest of the world were as self-assured as you."

* * *

Georgie arrived late, but since Will had, by now, learnt to instinctively add fifteen minutes onto whenever he told her a meeting time, this was not the problem it used to be.

"I brought wine," said Georgie, holding up the kind of bottle you'd expect on a student budget. "Tell me you made lasagna."

Will rolled his eyes as he let her in. "I said I would, didn't I?"

Georgie grinned and hugged him, before hanging up her coat. She followed him into the kitchen and took out two wine glasses, then made her way back to the living room.

"How's the life of a boring City lawyer?" she asked from the sofa.

"Fine," said Will. "How's the life of an award-winning soloist?"

Georgie sighed loudly and began loading up Netflix. "How many people have you told?"

"Almost everyone I meet," said Will solemnly. "My sister beat out her whole year of highly trained classical musicians. You should be prouder of yourself."

"You're proud enough for the both of us," she grumbled. "Let's talk about you. What did you do today?"

"Suit consultation. Ate some cake. And sushi. Saw Aunt Catherine," he added.

"Oh, wow, that's two bombshells. But sushi first. You hate sushi!"

"I know," groaned Will.

Georgie sipped her wine patiently.

"I was with Lizzy Bennet."

She almost spat her wine out. "Oh, Christ. You're in love with her."

"No! Jesus, no," said Will quickly."Not there yet. Anyway, how did you get to that?"

"Well, you ate sushi for her," said Georgie.

The oven dinged, and Will jumped up.

"Don't think you can run from me, William!" called Georgie, as Will went into the kitchen. "Lizzy seems nice! I'm sure she'll understand when you profess your undying love. You'll just have to spend the rest of your life pretending to like sushi… or, actually, it might be romantic if you confess you only _pretended_ to like sushi to spend more time with her."

Will returned with two plates of lasagna.

"We've only met four times," he said, setting down her plate in front of her. "And I don't think she likes me. As it's not sensible to like someone who doesn't like you, I'm not going to try anything."

There was a tone of finality to his speech, but as usual, Georgie ignored it.

"Ah, but my dear brother," she said, with a mouthful of lasagna. "As a wise man once said: the heart wants what it wants — "

"That's Selena Gomez," said Will, unimpressed.

" — _The heart wants what it wants,_ and all the head can do is work out how to get it."

"Whatever," said Will, picking up the remote. "Can we just choose something?"

"No, we can't," said Georgie, grabbing the remote from him. "Why did you go to see Aunt Catherine? Did she corner you at Rosings?"

"She, er, lied and said you were with her. I came to rescue you."

Georgie burst out laughing. "And fell neatly into her trap. All right, I feel sorry for you. _Mr. Robot_ it is."

They had been watching for near-on eight minutes, before Georgie started talking again.

"Tell me more about her."

Will sighed.

"I don't know what else you want me to say," said Will. "She's clever, and forthright, and charming. Also, beautiful."

"Uh-huh," nodded Georgie, through a mouth of popcorn. "Do you like her more than you did Anne?"

Anne de Bourgh had been Will's girlfriend from the beginning of second to mid-way through third year at uni, and to date his longest relationship.

"Yes," said Will, curtly.

"Interesting," said Georgie contemplatively, like a bad TV psychologist.

"No, it isn't," Will shot back. "I like her, and she doesn't like me. I ate sushi for her. I bought this tie that I'm never going to wear again because of her dress. Meanwhile, she thinks I'm an arse who shits on arts degrees — "

"You did history," Georgie cut in.

" — and a private school knob."

His disloyal sister tilted her head at that one.

"Well, you can't change that," she said. "Not the private school part, I mean. And you're only a knob on the surface — if Lizzy's voluntarily had lunch with you, she doesn't think you're a knob any more."

"Stop saying the word knob," grumbled Will.

"Will, I'm telling you. Just ask her out. Make it a casual thing! Lie, and say it's for the wedding."

"I've already pulled that card," he said. "And I can't just ask her out. She doesn't know me enough to make an informed decision, and I don't know her that well, either. I don't even know her favourite colour."

"It's a date, not a marriage," said Georgie. "And you will know her favourite colour if you _go on a date_ and find out! But you do know her — enough to know that you like her."

"I like her too much," said Will, after a silence. "But she… she's stubborn, and probably oblivious — "

"God, no wonder she doesn't like you."

" — And fascinating. She's polite, but razor-sharp, and confident and — "

"Right, that's enough," said Georgie. "There's only so much gushing I can take. Ask her out, show her how wonderful you are, introduce me to her, and we'll be best friends. Then I can be your wingwoman, you know, talk you up a little. She'll be smitten in no time."

Will sighed and reached for the popcorn, half of which had already been eaten. "I would sooner die than be wingwomaned by my little sister. But I accept the rest." He nudged her side. "I love you, sis."

"Ditto, bro."


	4. for the gentle wind does move

Fifteen minutes ago, Lizzy Bennet had been having a terrible day. Her alarm failed and her haste to get out of the house had led her to a) leave behind her lunch, and b) accidentally wear Charlotte's shoes, which were a size too small. When she got to the uni, the internet was slow and almost every printer in the faculty building was broken.

Now, though, it was five-thirty and she was getting off the Tube at Knightsbridge to walk towards Harrods.

Lizzy was no Darcy, and therefore not rich enough to actually buy things at Harrods on a whim. But it was a sort of personal tradition that she'd go in to have a browse after an awful day. Window shopping and the exceptionally glitzy atmosphere of Harrods always made her forget her mundane woes. Today especially, she needed that.

What she didn't need, however, was Will Darcy walking in the opposite direction with a bag slung over his shoulder and his suit jacket over his arm, looking a bit like a catalogue model.

She hadn't seen Will since the day of the sushi, which had happened over two weeks ago. She'd mailed him the thirty pounds he left extra and received a very polite, 'this wasn't necessary, but thank you anyway' card. Charlotte had teased her about it for two days afterwards, but given it up when she had seen that Lizzy was refusing to give Will much thought. Why would she? The only thing putting them together was Jane and Charlie's wedding, and Jane had stopped asking Lizzy to help, presumably due to guilt from enforcing on her the venue touring and cake tasting. So to return to the point, she had no reason to talk to him.

Back in the present, however, she was about to have to talk to him unless she somehow managed to avoid his sight. All was lost when she failed to blend into the very thin crowd of people on the street. Will saw her, waved, and Lizzy resigned herself to the inevitable.

"Funny I should see you here," she said, when they were within speaking distance. "I thought lawyers didn't leave the office until eight."

"They usually don't," he agreed amiably. "But today was an exception."

"Snuck out, did you?" she said. They moved to stand on the side of the pavement, by some trendy shop Lydia probably frequented. "I never had you down as a rebel."

"Georgie's performing at a concert tonight," he explained. "It's to showcase all the award winners this year at the Academy. We're having dinner beforehand and then she'll spend an hour doing her pre-performance preparations. I'm convinced all she does is watch cartoons, but she insists it puts her in the right mindset."

"I suppose it was too much to expect you'd sneak out just for the fun of it," said Lizzy mournfully. "Did you do it at school?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Scared?"

"Disciplined," he said, smiling. "They're quite keen on that at private school."

They laughed at the same time, which was mostly nice and a little alarming. She cut it off abruptly.

"I'll let you go and find your sister, then," she said.

Will checked his watch. "I'm actually not going anywhere for a bit. I was just going to wander around until Georgie called, but if you want to go somewhere together — " He coughed. "That's if you're not heading home or something."

"I was just going to go into Harrods," said Lizzy. "Er, not to buy anything. But it's been a bit of a rough day and Harrods makes me feel better."

Will didn't give Lizzy the odd look she usually got when she told someone about this. Instead, he smiled.

Madness hit her. "Do you want to come with me?" she blurted out. "It's not as weird as it sounds — just glorified window shopping, really. I won't promise a good time, but I like it."

Will would've agreed to go for a dip in shark-infested waters if Lizzy suggested it. "Sure, I'll come."

"Great," she managed, but was already questioning what on earth had possessed her to invite him. She could think of nothing clever to say and feared an awkward silence as they walked together. But Will prevented it by observing: "This seems to be a recurring theme with you."

"Huh?"

He smiled again. "You said the sushi place looked like how you wanted to decorate your kitchen."

"Kitchen/dining room," she corrected.

"My mistake," he said gallantly. He opened one of the doors and gave a flourish of his arm, like he was escorting her to a ball. She felt the urge to curtsey as she went past him.

"So, how did this start?" Will asked when they were inside.

She hesitated, but decided she could afford to embarrass herself a little more. "All right, judge me. I watched a movie. _Breakfast at Tiffany's_."

"I'm sure it's very good," he said, poker-faced.

Lizzy shook her head. "I can't believe you haven't — everybody needs to watch it." She hurried on. "So in the film, Holly Golightly tells Paul Varjak that when she feels low, she goes to Tiffany's to feel better." She adopted an American accent. " _N_ _othing bad can happen to you there_. This is the British equivalent, I guess."

Will eyed the elaborate decor around them sceptically. "This place makes you feel better?"

Lizzy, who had been studying a crystal bowl, looked up from it. "All right. Say what you want."

He didn't say anything.

"That wasn't rhetorical, you know," she said, moving onto another bowl.

"I know," said Will, coming to stand next to her. "But I've recently learned the merits of not speaking too quickly."

Lizzy kept her eyes on the bowl. "You can tell me I'm a sad materialist." He raised an eyebrow. "It would be a valid criticism."

He inspected a silver-plated tray on the display next to the crystal bowls. "You don't need to pre-empt that I'll criticise you," he said carefully. "Because I won't."

Lizzy was about to make a smart retort, but decided it would be even smarter to say something friendly. She sighed. "I know, that's unfair. I'm sorry. I'm just still a bit grumpy from the slight horror of the rest of today."

Apparently bored of the trays, he turned around to look at her. "I mean it," he said seriously. "I know that's how we started off, but I thought we put that behind us. We're friends, aren't we?"

She turned around as well. "Well, yes," she said. "But I thought things were kind of weird when you ran off during sushi."

Will frowned. "I told you I had to meet my aunt."

Lizzy stared at the floor.

"Oh," he said. "I know; it sounds like a lie. But I promise you, my aunt is crazy. Charlie can confirm. For instance, she regularly insists that strangers — shop assistants, waiters — address her as 'my lady'."

Lizzy laughed and the tension was broken. So he really _hadn't_ escaped from sushi because he couldn't bear to be around her. They left the bowls behind and moved onto lighting, where Lizzy expressed her desire for a chandelier and Will told the story of when he sent one crashing to the ground with a hockey stick and woefully inaccurate aim. Insisting that she'd never send _her_ children to a school filled with priceless lighting fixtures, she continued to argue in favour of chandeliers before he distracted her with the table lighting display.

Will wrinkled his nose at a green desk lamp. "You can't seriously like that."

"It's very elegant," defended Lizzy. "It's much better than that Art Nouveau atrocity you were looking at earlier."

"Don't talk shit about Mackintosh," he said, smiling widely.

She laughed again and they moved onto furniture.

"I want at least five of these bookshelves," she said, crossing her arms and admiring the floor-to-ceiling cases. "All in my living room."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Really? Where will people sit?"

She turned from where she was deciding between rosewood, mahogany and cherry to give him a disdainful look. "On the Rococo sofa, of course."

He looked delighted. "And how would you fit this all into one flat?"

Lizzy gave him a shocked look. "You didn't think we were decorating my tiny flat, did you?"

"No?"

"It's for my country abode," she said with an exasperated sigh. "I will retire there when life in the capital become tiresome."

"I should've guessed," he said. "Where have you picked? Derbyshire?"

The look of disdain was back. "Hampshire, naturally."

They laughed. Both were so caught up in the lovely intimacy of sharing a private joke that they couldn't see what promised to shatter it.

"Will!" a voice exclaimed. Lizzy had never heard it before, but somehow she knew exactly who it belonged to.

They both turned. Lizzy observed that unfortunately, Caroline was just as beautiful as her Instagram claimed.

"Will, I think you owe me an introduction," said Caroline. "Who's your friend?"

The look on Will's face was one of great reluctance. "Lizzy, this is Caroline, Charlie's sister. Caroline, this is Lizzy, Jane's sister."

Charlie appeared from a few metres away. Lizzy thought perhaps that Jane's name had summoned him.

He grinned when he saw them. "Will! Lizzy! What a coincidence!"

"There's hardly any other word to describe it," said Caroline waspishly. "So, what are you doing here, Will?"

"I snuck out," he said, borrowing Lizzy's words.

"Legally," said Charlie.

Lizzy, always partial to a pun, laughed. She was the only one.

"Very funny, Charlie," said Caroline. She turned to the object of her affection. "Will! I can't believe you're being so rebellious!"

Lizzy felt a small victory when Will only smiled thinly at Caroline's teasing. He'd played along when Lizzy had said the same thing earlier.

Caroline continued, undaunted. "And what are you doing with… Lizzy, is it?"

"Shopping for my dream home," said Lizzy.

Caroline didn't even pause to acknowledge that Lizzy had spoken. "Anyway, it's not important," she said. "Will, there was something I wanted to ask you, but it's absolutely gone from my head."

"Since you haven't told me what it is, I can't jog your memory."

Caroline touched his arm and laughed. Lizzy felt a faint disgust. "Oh, don't worry, I've remembered it now. Charlie and I were just going over his wedding plans and he mentioned that you didn't have a date to his wedding."

The expression on Charlie's face suggested that he had said no such thing.

"Did you?" Will asked his friend.

Charlie settled for the neutral phrase, "I couldn't say."

Caroline laughed anyway, as if the sheer power of that artificial sound could overcome what would have been for her a very awkward moment. Somehow, it worked.

"You've stabbed me in the back a bit, Charlie," she said amiably. She turned to Will. "Well, then? Is it true?"

Will, outmanoeuvred, admitted that it was true.

"I'm sure Jane and Charlie would agree that it makes sense for a bridesmaid to walk alongside the best man," said Caroline.

Lizzy rather thought it made more sense for the maid of honour to walk alongside the best man.

"Wouldn't you agree, Lizzy?" said Caroline.

Lizzy smiled. "I think it makes even more sense for the best man to ask someone himself."

"Surely we live in an age where women don't have to wait for men," said Caroline. She checked her watch. "Oh, gosh. Will, Charlie, we're going to be late."

"Georgie is always fifteen minutes late," Will began. "We can afford to be here a while longer."

But Lizzy could read a dismissal when one was given. "No, I'd hate for you to be late. I'll let you be where you need to be," she said, stepping backwards. "Will, Charlie. Caroline."

"You don't have to go," said Charlie. "You're perfectly welcome to come to dinner with us."

"Georgie's been dying to meet you," added Will. "I'm sure she'd be delighted if you came."

Lizzy considered this. Then she considered her H&M cardigan and dress, and Caroline's designer outfit.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"The Magnolia," said Will.

"It has two Michelin stars," added Caroline. "Not really the place that does quirky sushi, if that's more your thing."

Lizzy smiled with as much humour as she could muster up after that palpable hit. "It's a very kind invitation, but my flatmate is probably waiting for me to get back home," she said. "I've got to run for the Tube."

"We'll find another time," said Charlie.

Caroline smiled thinly and said, "Bye, Lizzy."

She exchanged a smile with Will and dashed off. She managed to catch her train just before it left and stared down at the speckled floor. How the hell did Caroline know about the sushi thing? Did she have spies? Did Will tell her? Frustrated, Lizzy took out her phone to text Charlotte that she was on her way back home.

She opened the door and made her way into the kitchen. Charlotte shouted hello from the living room. In the kitchen, Lizzy began to make tea with a certain viciousness.

"How shit?" came Charlotte's voice. Lizzy had briefly alluded to the shittiness of her day in her text, but had neglected to mention running into Will. And Caroline.

"Pretty shit," Lizzy yelled back. "You?"

"Eh, not so bad," said Charlotte. "Penny hinted that she wants me to have the promotion, but then I eavesdropped on Simon's conversation with Hannah and he thinks he's going to get it."

"Simon doesn't know what's coming," said Lizzy, with her standard belief in her friend.

"We'll see," said Charlotte, with her standard reticence about her own successes. "Tell me about your shit day."

Lizzy sighed. "I wore your shoes, for starters."

There was a sympathetic silence.

"Also," she continued, "I ran into Will."

Charlotte came skidding into the kitchen. "Oh, boy. This is going to be good."

"And then I met Caroline Bingley, whom I hate. You know, the kind of person who uses 'summer' as a verb?"

"Right," said Charlotte. "So, does your hatred have anything to do with Will?"

Lizzy emerged triumphantly from the cupboard, mint teabags in hand. "With Will?" she asked. "Why?"

Charlotte looked unimpressed at her friend's playing dumb. "You said Caroline was obsessed with him."

Lizzy frowned at her and began making tea. "Did I? That must've been like, weeks ago. How do you have such a memory for this?"

"I enjoy real-life dramas," said Charlotte dryly. "Was Will with Caroline?"

"No, he was alone. Caroline arrived later, with Charlie."

Charlotte nodded and Lizzy could practically see the gears turning as the conclusion was formed in her head. "So you're mad at her because she interrupted your date with Will."

Lizzy glared at her friend. "It was hardly a date. Quit romanticising our every encounter."

"How can I, when they're all just begging to be romanticised? What did you do, anyway?"

Lizzy poured boiling water into her mug. "We went to Harrods."

"Oh, your weird Harrods thing," said Charlotte. "He went along with it? Guy must really like you."

"Apparently not," said Lizzy bitingly, "because now he's having dinner with Caroline in a double-starred Michelin restaurant. With Charlie and Will's sister," she added hastily.

It wasn't enough. The look on Charlotte's face was triumphant, and with good reason too. A pit began to form in Lizzy's stomach. She had been so, so stupid. It had been staring her in the face for weeks — months, even! If you counted disproportionate anger at a Mario Kart loss.

"Oh, my God," she said miserably. "I've been such an idiot."

"And there it is," said Charlotte. "Aw, don't be sad. If he helped you design your dream home, there's a lot of hope for you."

"No, there isn't!" said Lizzy. "I've been so blind and probably sending him really confusing signals. It took _jealousy_ for me to realise that I liked Will! I was so stubborn, and he was perfectly nice and even quite funny and charming while we're at it — "

"OK, you're rambling," said Charlotte. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened today and that'll calm you down. Then you can figure out what to do about your newly-discovered feelings."

"You're right," said Lizzy. "I can do that. OK. So I was walking towards Harrods — I wasn't joking about the shittiness of the day, you know — and then Will was in front of me…"

Charlotte was right. Recalling the events of the day did calm her down. But as she described walking and laughing in the store, she couldn't help but feel that she wanted to be talking to Will right now. He understood her when she was exaggerating and humoured her when she was being ridiculous. And she was scared that she'd missed the opportunity to tell him that she really rather liked him. Part of her wanted to call him this very second and let her feelings spill out of her in a confused mess he'd probably be able to sort out and understand. The other far more sensible part, which thankfully held more control over her, knew she had to understand what she wanted herself, before she went off demanding things of him.

"And then I left," said Lizzy. "As fast as I could, whilst still being vaguely dignified."

"Aw, baby," said Charlotte. "So what are you going to do?"

Lizzy sighed. "Figure out my own head, then wait until the wedding's over to tell him? I don't want it to be really awkward because he's rejected me."

"He won't reject you," said Charlotte automatically. "He'd be mad to."

"You're just saying that because you're my friend," said Lizzy. "But Jane and Charlie are getting married really soon. I'll just wait until after then."

Charlotte seemed unsatisfied with this, but shrugged. "If that's what you want to do."

"I hate it when you say that. You're always withholding an opinion."

"True, true," said Charlotte. "But I withhold my opinions so you can learn to live life by making mistakes."

"A great friend you are," said Lizzy sarcastically, but she meant it.

"I know," said Charlotte, hopping off her stool to head back into the living room. "What would you do without me?"


	5. two hearts beating each to each

As a rule, Charlie didn't gossip.

But he was about to make an exception. He'd just come home from an evening with Will, Caroline and Georgie, during which Will had been even moodier than usual. The poor conversation offered by Caroline and a moody Will had given Charlie room to speculate, and then it hit him...

He thought he had it, but it was such an odd and unpredictable explanation that he felt he had to share it with Jane.

"Sweetheart," he began, when the ad break started. "Do you think it's possible that Will and Lizzy like each other?"

His fiancée looked up from the blue folder that had not gone a minute out of her sight in the last six weeks. "Will and Lizzy? What makes you say that?"

"It's just..." Charlie hesitated. But no, he had started now, and he would see his cautious hypothesis through even if it killed him. "Caroline and I bumped into them at Harrods today, and sort of broke up their shopping trip, or whatever it was they were doing. And Will was very moody all throughout dinner and Georgie's performance, which Lizzy couldn't come to, by the way. So I was just thinking..."

"Oh," said Jane. She blinked, put down her pen, and folded her hands in her lap. "Goodness."

Charlie always smiled when she said 'goodness', 'gosh' and, occasionally, delightfully, 'heavens'. "I know," he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I didn't think they got along."

"No," said Jane, slowly. "But Lizzy always goes to Harrods when she's had a blue day, so Will must have bumped into her and gone with her. And there was that time with the cake tasting."

"Right, yes." Charlie couldn't actually remember going to any cake tasting, but hesitated to say this out loud, as he and Jane were in the depths of intense wedding planning and he felt he owed it to her to remember everything he'd been a part of.

Jane rolled her eyes affectionately. "Will volunteered to do it with Lizzy because we had to have lunch with Mum."

Charlie couldn't have forgotten dinner with Fran Bennet even if he took a dip in the River Lethe.

"I hope everything works out for them," said Jane. "They did have chemistry that day at the venue touring, didn't they?"

Dimly, Charlie could recall going to see various buildings while Jane carried a folder or clipboard and Will and Lizzy bickered. "I'm not a great judge of these things," he admitted with a smile.

"Oh, I know," said Jane, and kissed him before he pouted. "But _I'm_ very hopeful for them."

* * *

 **Text sent at 19:17, Friday 6th April 2018  
From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Hey!  
I forgot to ask how was the concert?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Good. Georgie played Haydn and Mozart.  
How was your evening?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Marked a bunch of undergrad essays, then watched some TV  
Pretty standard stuff

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Sounds relaxing. Though probably not as relaxing as the Derbyshire abode.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Hampshire!  
Don't try and catch me out, mister

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet  
**We'll have to compromise.

* * *

 **Text sent at 16:23, Saturday 7th April 2018  
From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Hey.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Hey!

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
My sister's performing again next Tuesday at 7. Would you like to come and listen?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
I'm so sorry, I can't! Tuesday is Charlotte's birthday dinner!  
I'd love to see your sister perform some other time though. She must be amazing!

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
It's not a problem. I'll let you know if she does anything else soon.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
That would be great! Thank you and I'm so sorry!

* * *

 **Text sent at 16:23, Monday 9th April 2018  
From: Lizzy Bennet** **  
To: Will Darcy  
** Hey, this is kind of weird but  
I've got a spare ticket for this swing dance class Thursday evening if you're interested?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet  
**Sorry for the late reply. Transaction time is always hectic.  
Some other time, maybe.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy  
**Don't worry about it, I understand!

* * *

 **Text sent at 13:09, Sunday 15th April 2018  
From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet  
**I heard from Charlie that you're sick. I'm sorry, that sucks.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Yeah, it's just the flu but I feel pretty awful  
Ooh, guess what movie I'm watching?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet  
**Please forgive me if I get it wrong.  
Breakfast at Tiffany's?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy  
**Bingo!

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
I really am going to watch it, I promise.  
I was going to after we signed the transaction, but I sort of think you ought to be there.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy  
**Hmmm. How about a time when I'm not plague-ridden?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Seriously, are you alright?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Hanging in there  
If someone could bring me some soup, though...

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
I heard Lorenzo's do a delivery system now?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Exactly what I wanted  
Thanks!

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
You're welcome.  
Hope you feel better soon.

* * *

 **Text sent at 14:17, Saturday 21st April 2018  
From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Hey, Jane and I are going over the seating arrangements for the wedding and we just wanted to make sure you're not bringing a date?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Caroline, but as she's already involved, you don't have to make any new arrangements.

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Caroline? As in Bingley?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Yes, does that cause a problem?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
No, not at all.

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet  
**That's good.  
Let me know if I can do anything to help.

* * *

"What did he say?" asked Jane.

Lizzy looked up from her phone.

"His date is _Caroline_ ," she said, in a daze. She showed Jane her phone screen. "I... I thought he didn't like her."

Jane thought the same thing, and it took her a few seconds to put together something to say.

She settled on: "I'm sure there's an explanation," although she couldn't think of one. Will had seemed to really like Lizzy, but here was indisputable fact.

Lizzy barked out a laugh, but said nothing.

"Lizzy?" Jane asked. "Are you alright?"

Lizzy took a gulp of her tea.

"Yep, fine. Only — oh, Jane. I've been an _idiot_."

"Lizzy! I'm sure you haven't."

"Trust me, I have. Jane, I... I like Will," she said, her smile faltering. "I haven't told him, and I would've told you, only obviously Charlie is so close to Will, and I just — "

"Oh, _Lizzy_ ," said Jane, and squeezed her hand.

"We bumped into each other a few weeks ago," said Lizzy. "He came with me to Harrods therapy. Jane, he's so — so _comfortable_ to be around. And funny! We've got the exact same sense of humour. But then Caroline showed up with Charlie and he left with them, and I felt desolate."

"Yes, Charlie told me about that," Jane confessed.

"Of course he did." Lizzy gave her sister an affectionate smile. Then she rolled her eyes. "I almost can't believe you didn't ask me about it."

"Lizzy! I would never bring up something about your personal life you didn't want to discuss."

"Oh, I know," said Lizzy. "But now I have brought it up, so we _can_ discuss it."

Jane hesitated. "I thought you didn't like Will," she said.

"No, I do — I do like him. I picked a fight with him the first time we met because I was feeling kind of merciless that day, but I didn't know the context he was talking in. Really, we both said bad things."

"But you carried on hating him."

"You mean at the Mario Kart tournament?" Lizzy laughed. "He was attractive, and better than me at Mario Kart, and I couldn't work out if our arm touches were accidents or not. But he didn't say much and what he did say I interpreted badly. So I decided to be angry."

"Right," said Jane. "Well, when did things change?"

Lizzy narrowed her eyes teasingly. "At brunch with you, when he apologised. And then we started spending all this time together for your wedding."

Jane nodded slowly. "Charlie said Will was moody all throughout his sister's concert after you left," she said. "Lizzy, I don't think you have to be so down about liking him. He probably likes you as well."

"Being Caroline's date to your wedding is a funny way of showing it," said Lizzy wryly.

Jane could not dispute this.

"Before this, I thought he did like me back," Lizzy continued, with characteristic honesty. "We've been texting a bit. The drama peaked when — you know I was sick last week?"

"Yes?"

"I decided to push my luck, and hinted heavily that I wanted someone — _meaning him_ — to bring me soup. Do you know what he said?"

"No?" offered Jane weakly.

"He told me that Lorenzo's just started doing a delivery system!" said Lizzy, breaking into deranged laughter.

Jane smiled sympathetically. Lizzy sighed.

"This is stupid."

"No, Lizzy," said Jane. "It's not stupid at all."

"It is," Lizzy said defiantly.

"No, it isn't," said Jane. She'd been considering whether to let this slip, because she felt she owed Will some confidentiality, but decided that it would help them both if Lizzy knew. "Because I think he likes you back. Do you know why you ended up picking out his suit and going to the cake tasting?"

Lizzy gave her sister a dubious look. "Because Mum came into town and you couldn't go?"

"Well, yes. But I think he wanted you to go with him."

"He requested me?" said Lizzy sharply.

"Lizzy! No! But Charlie was telling him how we'd have to move the cake tasting because of Mum, and I don't really know the specifics, but Will volunteered to do it. I think he hoped, or knew you'd be there."

Lizzy narrowed her eyes. "Or, it was a surprise to us both that the other was there?"

Jane sighed. "Lizzy, you can't interrogate more out of me than I already know."

Lizzy smiled. "You're right, Jane." She kissed her sister's cheek. "Don't worry about me. Worry about a potential Palmer-Jennings confrontation at your wedding." She tapped the seating plan. "Five tables' distance may not be enough."

* * *

"Georgie?" said Will. "Are you there?"

"I'm answering your call, aren't I?" she replied, tucking her pencil behind her ear. Quickly assessing her brother's tone, and deciding that he sounded fairly agitated, she left the piano stool to curl up on the small sofa in the corner of the room. "What's up?"

"I can't ask Charlie, so I have to talk to you," said Will. "I think I made a mistake."

Georgie rolled her eyes. "Shocking."

Will ignored the insult. "Hypothetically," he said. "If you go to a wedding with someone, does that suggest you're romantically involved?"

"Well, I don't know," said Georgie, treading cautiously but feeling hopeful. "Is it Lizzy? Did you finally pluck up the courage to ask her?"

"No," said Will, dashing her hopes in one fell swoop. "In fact, it's the exact opposite."

"Will," said Georgie, very calmly. "What the hell?"

"Right, I knew it was a bad idea to give into her."

"Then why did you do it?" Georgie demanded. "And also, what did you do?"

There was a pause.

"Technically, Caroline is my date to Charlie's wedding."

There was another pause, presumably as Georgie paused to take some deep breaths, or throw her pencil at the wall.

"Georgie?" asked Will. "Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm bloody here, although I wish I was next to you so I could _strangle you_. Jesus Christ. Does Lizzy know?"

"She just texted and wanted to know if I was bringing anyone because she's going over the seating plan with Jane. I told her about Caroline, but now I'm beginning to suspect that was a mistake."

Georgie now spoke with a deadpan tone. "Do you think so."

"But Lizzy's met Caroline," Will persisted foolishly. "She knows how difficult she is. It doesn't mean anything that I'm technically her date."

"Yes, it bloody does," said Georgie. "You're fuelling Caroline's romantic interest in you when you're interested in someone else. That looks bad, doesn't it?"

There was another pause.

"Shit," he said, which Georgie thought was an apt description of his decision-making skills too. "I have to — I have to tell her it doesn't mean anything. I have to do something. Fuck, I'm just going to have to — I'll have to just tell her how I feel."

In other circumstances, Georgie would have been delighted to hear this. However, as Will was rushing to rectify a severe screw up, her excitement was clouded over by trepidation.

"Good luck," she said, and hung up.

* * *

It took twenty minutes for Lizzy to get home, and on the journey back she'd experienced a series of emotions ranging from shock, confusion and irritation. When Charlotte arrived home, however, Lizzy was firmly entrenched in anger.

"Caroline is Will's date to the wedding," said Lizzy, as her friend appeared through the door. She threw her book on the kitchen table with more aggression than the poor, battered paperback deserved.

"Oh, babe," said Charlotte, and hugged her with one arm, as she held out her other so her bag could slip off onto a chair.

Lizzy swallowed. "I'm not sad, I'm angry," she said. "He's so _oblivious_ — I think he genuinely thought I wouldn't care that he's coming with Caroline. And _why_ is he coming with her?"

"Caroline seems quite persistent," said Charlotte. "Maybe she annoyed him into it."

"Why didn't she annoy him out of it?" snapped Lizzy.

Charlotte did not have a ready answer to that.

"For God's sake, this is stupid," said Lizzy. "I'm being all irritable over a _boy_. I've eaten my comfort pasta, I'm going to go to sleep, then wake up and confront this."

"That's my girl," said Charlotte. Lizzy trudged into the bathroom, completed her feeble excuse for a skincare routine and collapsed into bed.

Unfortunately, she had not been able to sleep. Going to bed at half past seven had been an ambitious task to undertake and she had failed, because she couldn't put the situation with Will out of her head. Quite simply, she had no idea what the _hell_ he meant in agreeing to go to a wedding with a woman he disliked. Especially as Lizzy, whom she was somewhat convinced he did like, was _right there_.

She finally resolved to tell him tomorrow how she felt, and weather the storm as it came. She began preparing her speech in her head: _Just hear me out, alright? I have something I need to say to you..._

But then (as it often happens in this day and age) her phone chimed, and everything changed.

* * *

 **Text sent at 21:38, Saturday 21st April 2018  
From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet  
**Where are you?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
Er, what?

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Are you at your flat?

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
... yes? I wasn't lying when I said I lived a boring life.  
(Are you going to explain this of your own accord or do I have to ask?)

 **From: Will Darcy  
To: Lizzy Bennet**  
Good. Nothing's wrong, but don't leave.  
(I'm not going to tell you yet.)

 **From: Lizzy Bennet  
To: Will Darcy**  
OK? Is something happening?  
Will?

* * *

Will did not consider himself a romantic guy — at least, not in the way that Charlie was. Charlie surprised Jane with couples retreats and rose petal proposals. Will's relationships had a much less Instagrammable quality to them. None of his girlfriends had never been very concerned with romance, which suited him just fine. He knew romance wasn't as important as love and loyalty. And since he wasn't a romantic guy, he had no reason to adopt romantic behaviours, when sensible, simpler things worked just as well.

So why, then, was he standing under a porch in the rain at dusk, about to make a speech?

"Hello," he said, when Lizzy opened the door. That introduction was — terrible, really. He cleared his throat.

"Hi?" she said.

"I am an idiot," he said, looking clearly into her eyes. "Caroline is persistent and demanding, but I am an idiot. I thought it would be easier to just give in to her instead of asking you — which is what I really wanted."

"Oh," said Lizzy. She blinked. This was much more direct than she had been prepared for. "You — you could have texted that."

"No, I couldn't have." _Because I wouldn't have been able to do this —_ lean in, and then...  
He shook his head. He would not get distracted by the thought of kissing her, at least until he had finished his speech.

He continued. "Lizzy. You're clever, and charming, and brilliant, which you already know."

"Yes," said Lizzy, fighting a smile. "I do."

"I — stop interrupting my speech," said Will. "I rehearsed this for longer than I'm proud to admit."

The sparkle came into her eyes. "How long?"

"I'm not going to tell you. But, I will tell you something else."

"Oh? Is it something again I already know?"

"I like you," he said, and broke into a smile. "A lot. I think I'd terrify you if I told you how much. But it's there, and it's only ever going to grow."

"I — _God,_ Will — "

She stopped trying to form sentences, and gave into the smile that was threatening to split her face in half.

"I was going to tell you the same thing tomorrow," she said, throwing up her hands. "You've completely ruined my plan."

"You still can," said Will, who hadn't stopped smiling. "Our plans can coexist."

Well, words weren't enough to reply to that: something so well-meant and ridiculously formal that no one other than Will could've said it.

They must've leaned in at the same time, because they met precisely in the middle.


	6. conclusions are as kisses

**A/N: Really and truly, I want to thank every single person who's read this and made me feel like my writing wasn't just me screaming words into the void. Every review, favourite and Tumblr ask has been met with huge smiles and appreciation. I'm so incredibly sorry for the fact that this has taken me so long to finish — but at least I did it! And yes, this is the last chapter. If I've learnt anything from writing this, it's to plan your multichapter thoroughly before you dive into it. But we made it to the end, and thank you so much for just… caring.**

 **Chapter title is from Twelfth Night, as was the case with Chapter 1 — I'm nothing if not a slave to round endings.**

* * *

The sun peeked into the room like the scene of a John Donne poem, and Will gave a sleepy groan.

"You need to get thicker curtains," he said to the owner of the room, currently curled up beside him.

Lizzy's response was muffled by a pillow, but the hand which came down to hit Will's face was sadly not.

She sighed and turned her face away from the pillow to speak. "Did you just kiss my hand?"

"Your face was buried in a pillow," said Will.

"Oh my God," said Lizzy, whose smile was about to burst. "But not any more."

"No," agreed Will, but he didn't move. Lizzy waited for him to follow up on that, to no avail.

"So," he continued. "What would you like to do today?"

A pause.

"I was going to say 'you'," Lizzy confessed. "But I thought that might be too brazen."

"Definitely not," said Will. "Be as brazen as you want."

That was all the encouragement Lizzy needed.

* * *

A few days later, they were snuggled into a tiny booth at a pub Will frequented. It was a random Thursday where, a few hours earlier, Will had texted if Lizzy was free after work, to which Lizzy had decided she was. Cocooned in giddiness over how easily they were having so much fun, the conversation had gone from work, school and uni to _Love Actually_ , the Byzantine Empire and Foucault. Then they'd taken a sharp turn from intellectual discussion, and currently Lizzy was making Will tell her every embarrassing moment he'd suffered in his life.

"Oh, and there was the time I was drunk to meet my tutor at uni," said Will, as he polished off his fancy whiskey cocktail.

"You were not!" said Lizzy delightedly.

"Drunk from the night before, I mean. I didn't take up day drinking until third year."

Even when she tore her eyes away from him and looked around the admittedly very nice pub decor, Lizzy couldn't seem to stop smiling. She was happy here, she was happy around him, and she was happy that her life was happening this way. Technically this must count as a date, but she'd always hated the formality and social etiquette that came with those. Dating Will dispensed of all that, and Lizzy wondered idly if before this she had just been dating the wrong people.

"So what was the embarrassing part?" she asked.

"Guess," said Will flatly.

She smiled sweetly. "I'd rather hear you say it."

His face grew regretful, but he obliged her because he wanted to make her laugh again. "I threw up all over the carpet."

Lizzy laughed so hard she almost choked on her gin and tonic.

"It wasn't a pretty sight," said Will. "But two years later, I managed to face her for a conversation long enough that she told me it was far from the worst thing a fresher had done in front of her."

Lizzy sipped her drink and gave Will perhaps the dopiest smile ever. "You know, if you'd told me these stories when we met…"

"You wouldn't have let me," said Will. His mouth dropped into a teasing smile. "You were so angry about Mario Kart,of _all things_."

"You can't possibly _blame_ me for reacting badly to your shocking conversation skills…"

He grinned, stood up and lightly grazed her knuckles with his. "I'm going to get a refill."

"Careful with those!" said Lizzy, as he walked away. "You don't want to repeat night two of freshers!"

She sat in the booth and checked her lipstick on her phone camera. The situation wasn't atrocious. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she thought up an excuse to make to Charlotte if she asked Lizzy where she had been. She hadn't told anyone about Will yet. It had technically only been four days, but she thought perhaps should include all the weeks of tension before as well, and maybe she _should_ tell Jane since she'd find out anyway at the wedding…

Her phone buzzed, breaking through her thoughts.

"Lizzy!" said Jane, when Lizzy picked up. "I'm in a crisis — I don't know what's happened but I can't find my dress! I could swear I saw it a few days ago — it was hanging at the back of my wardrobe — but when I just went to look at it it was _gone_. I can't call Charlie because I don't want him to accidentally see it and it sounds like you're out right now and I don't want to interrupt, but — "

"Jane," said Lizzy, covering her other ear. This pub was _loud_. "Slow down. What do you mean it's gone?"

"I don't know!" said Jane, in a high, unnatural voice. "But I'm staring at my wardrobe and it's _not there_. I can't get married without my _dress_."

"I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation," said Lizzy, the hollowness of her own conviction painfully clear. "It'll turn up."

"I've looked _everywhere_ ," said Jane.

Lizzy glanced over at Will at the bar and made a hasty decision.

"All right, don't panic. I'm going to come and help you find it."

"Oh my gosh, thank you. I really don't know what to do — "

Lizzy cut in. "Are you sure you didn't put it somewhere else?"

"Quite sure," said Jane miserably. "Where would I have put it?"

Lizzy stuffed her purse into her bag. "OK, just keep looking. I'll be there in ten."

She hung up just as Will came back with a drink in his hand.

"Who was that?" he said.

Lizzy downed the rest of her drink. "Jane," she said, throwing on her jacket. "I'm so sorry, but I've got to go — she's having a panic, and she can't tell Charlie, because it's about her dress." She stood up and looked at him nervously. "Is that OK?"

"Yes, of course," said Will. "Would you like me to come with you? I could get rid of Charlie while you search."

Lizzy thought of the questions that would be asked if she showed up at Jane and Charlie's flat with Will on a random Wednesday night.

"No, you only just got a new drink," she said merrily, gesturing to where it sat on a napkin in front of Will. She leaned forward to peck his cheek, hoping to rid herself of her guilt at his disappointed face, even as he tried to cover it up. She didn't manage it. "I'll see you!" she called — God, what a stupid thing to say— and dashed out.

* * *

It turned out that their _mother_ had the dress. Mrs Bennet had visited a few days ago and taken it to sew in Jane's 'something borrowed' — a scrap of fabric from her own wedding veil. She hadn't told Jane because she wanted it to be a surprise.

"More like the terror of your life," muttered Lizzy, when Jane finally put the phone down. It had been a long, draining conversation, as were most phone calls with their mother, and Lizzy hadn't half the tolerance Jane had.

"She was doing a kind thing, Lizzy," said Jane.

"I don't care," said Lizzy unreasonably, sinking into Jane's blue sofa. She was irritated because Jane was never as angry at their mother as Lizzy was, and because the whole debacle had been resolved so simply. Without the drama of Jane's missing dress to distract her, all that Lizzy could think about for the last ten minutes was how she'd left things with Will. She knew she shouldn't have abandoned him and dismissed his offer to help with such a pretence of carelessness. She felt guilty and angry, and left Jane's flat before she dragged Jane into a miserable state too.

Lizzy's bad mood lasted all the way until she got home. She updated Charlotte quickly on the dress fiasco then trudged into her room. She was disappointed that Will hadn't texted, but told herself she was being unreasonable for hoping it.

She took actions into her own hands.

"Mum had the dress," she explained, relieved that he'd picked up her call. "She was sewing in fabric for that 'something old' rhyme and wanted it to be a surprise, so she didn't tell Jane. Or anyone else," Lizzy added, not without a hint of irritation.

"I see," said Will.

"So that's what happened," said Lizzy weakly. "The panic is over."

She was sure he knew why she hadn't wanted him to go with her to Jane's place. It hung in the air like a stormy cloud that refused to break into rain.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that," she said quietly.

"It's fine," said Will. Then, "It's late. Goodnight, Lizzy."

"Goodnight," she said. She threw her phone on the floor when he hung up, and it didn't ring again all night.

* * *

Will knew there was probably an unspoken policy on this, but the next day he called Lizzy anyway. He wanted them to be strong too badly to be proud, and was relieved when she answered immediately.

"I thought you were mad at me," said Lizzy, when they met up later. It was another still summer evening, much like the one only a few days ago when everything had changed. This air in this one felt similarly delicate.

"I am," said Will carefully. "A bit. But I'd rather talk to you, all the same."

Lizzy felt her heart madly skip a beat.

"I don't want us to — "

"I should've just said — "

They stopped at the same time.

"I should've just said that I didn't want you to come with me, because then Jane would know there was something going on between us," said Lizzy.

"I thought it was something like that," said Will.

"But I regretted it as soon as I said it," she added tentatively. "And I wish I — hadn't."

There was a beat.

"Even though it's only been a few days?"

"Sure," said Lizzy, breaking into a teasing tone. "Even though there's stuff that's been in my fridge for longer."

They smiled stupidly at each other.

"Anyway, I've told Georgie," said Will, with an air of changing the subject. "Well, she tricked me into telling her. Apparently I was being 'less mopey' and she asked me if that was to do with you, and I cracked and said yes."

Lizzy smiled, then her face froze comically. "How well does Georgie know Charlie?"

Will gave a tight-lipped smile. "I'm pretty sure they make fun of me when I'm not around."

"Well, damn," she said lightly. "If your sister knows about us…"

Will groaned. "She definitely would have told Charlie."

"And whatever Charlie knows, Jane knows." Lizzy sighed and dropped her head onto Will's shoulder. "She's going to be so angry. Well, I mean as angry as Jane can be. I just hope she doesn't feel the need to rework the whole wedding plan to accommodate us."

* * *

The first thing Jane said when their video call started was: "I cannot _believe_ you let me find out from Charlie, Lizzy! I'm your sister!"

Lizzy made a face. "I'm sorry?"

Jane was too good-natured to really mind. "I know I've been sort of focused on myself recently…"

"I forgive you. You _are_ getting married in two days."

"But you already told me you liked him," said Jane, characteristically ignoring Lizzy's dry interceptions. "Didn't I deserve an update?"

At this moment Charlotte wandered into the room and Lizzy panicked, because she was pretty sure that Charlotte at least had no idea what the situation was with Will.

"Hey, here's Charlotte!" said Lizzy, and turned her phone to face her.

Charlotte waved at the camera. "Hey, Jane. Did you find out about Lizzy and Will?"

Lizzy gaped. "What? How do _you_ — "

"Lizzy, babe, I saw him come in last Saturday and leave the next morning."

"You've known _all this time_ and you _didn't think to mention it_? Do you have any idea how stressful all the sneaking around was?"

"We're not doing this now," said Charlotte firmly. "You're talking to Jane."

"Yes, Lizzy, you're talking to me," said Jane. "And for the record, didn't I say he liked you back?"

"You did," admittedly Lizzy.

Jane looked so pleased with herself. "I'm taking all the credit for this. Didn't you meet at Charlie's party, which I dragged you to? And then you reconnected during the wedding planning?"

Lizzy had never seen her older sister so egotistical before, and told her so.

Jane stuck her tongue out. "You know I'm just really happy for you."

"I know," Lizzy replied softly. "I am too."

* * *

Lizzy congratulated herself on a job well done when, the night before Jane and Charlie's wedding, she successfully snuck into Will's hotel room.

The first thing she said after "I missed you" was: "Can I steal your toiletries?"

Will didn't even give her a strange look. "The loo roll is really great," he said.

"Thanks," she said and dashed into the bathroom to stash everything in her bag.

He waited as she rummaged around.

"Ooh, they gave you a different shower gel!" she called excitedly. "And a different shampoo." He heard the sound of her popping open the bottle. "That orange blossom scent is _captivating_."

"So that's why you're here," he said amusedly. "To milk me for my free shampoo."

"Definitely," said Lizzy, finally emerging with her haul. She dropped her bag on the floor and jumped into his arms. "But there are other reasons too."

And then she kissed him.

* * *

"I saw you this morning," said a voice tinged with contempt.

Lizzy, who'd just finished drying her hands, turned to see Caroline Bingley standing in front of a mirror, retouching her makeup.

This was bound to happen sooner or later. Caroline hadn't said anything during the ceremony, only given Lizzy some very icy smiles. Apparently now, half an hour into the reception, she'd chosen her time to strike.

"OK," said Lizzy slowly. "You could've said hi."

Caroline snapped her eyeshadow palette shut and turned away from the mirror. Lizzy had to admit that her smoky eye was very good. "I thought that might've made things uncomfortable," she said sweetly. "You were coming out of Will's room."

Lizzy reminded herself that violence was not the answer. "What would you like to say, Caroline?"

Caroline smiled and seemed to consider her options. She settled on: "You're very different people. It might be hard for you to understand each other."

Lizzy felt an inexplicable urge to justify her fledgling relationship to this bitter, unimportant woman. If Caroline had outright suggested that she was a better fit for Will than Lizzy, then Lizzy could have easily laughed it off. But instead, she hadn't brought herself into it at all. Lizzy knew that what Caroline said was what anyone might be thinking: maybe even Will's sister, and certainly Will's ridiculous aunt; both of whom, Lizzy was well aware, she had yet to meet.

"We both want our relationship to work," said Lizzy lightly.

Caroline's lip curled at this. "Wanting doesn't make things go anywhere," she said.

Lizzy resisted the urge to say: "As you know from experience." She could afford to not be catty, though she did so desperately want to.

She waited out Caroline's patience. After a brief, assessing glance, her adversary huffed and walked away.

Lizzy waited until Caroline had left the bathroom. A laugh escaped her as she faced the mirror and smoothed out her hair. She imagined telling Will about this later, imagined Will's mortified face and her patting his shoulder reassuringly as she said, "Don't worry, I defended us." An anticlimactic confrontation in a hotel bathroom! It was all so ridiculous. She laughed again. How had she ever summoned up enough energy to hate Caroline?

She made her way back to the ballroom, when Charlie appeared, shockingly without Jane.

"Lizzy!" He seemed a bit foxed and very happy. "I heard about you and Will."

"Oh, I know," she said, sighing. "Jane told me."

"Georgie told _me_ ," said Charlie. He spotted Jane and pulled her towards him when she was in reaching distance. She giggled and wound her arms around his middle.

"Sorry you had to find out about Will and Lizzy from me," said Charlie to his new wife.

Jane looked equally happy, and equally tipsy. "S'alright, babe."

"It's my fault," said a cheerful new voice, sliding effortlessly into the conversation. She turned to Lizzy. "We're finally meeting! Quick, before Will comes to chaperone this. I'm his sister, Georgie."

Lizzy smiled. "I'm Lizzy. Will's told me a lot about you."

Georgie rolled her eyes. "Ugh, he probably made me sound like an overachieving snob. I promise, you're going to like me so much more once you get to know me."

Lizzy laughed. "I'm sure I will," she said warmly.

A slow dance started up, and she felt herself being spun into Will's arms.

"Hi," she said, winding her arms around his neck.

"Hi to you too," he said. Georgie winked at him over Lizzy's shoulder, and he narrowed his eyes in response. "Did my sister force her personality on you?"

"I like her," said Lizzy. "You don't have to worry about that."

"You're very tolerant," he said fondly.

They swayed in contented silence for a while.

"I had an interesting conversation in the loos earlier," said Lizzy.

"Caroline," said Will baldly.

"Jackpot. How did you know?"

"She came in just before you and looked miffed," said Will. "Also, you looked proud of yourself — I assume it was because you didn't lose your temper."

"You know me so well," said Lizzy, not without a touch of irony.

"And I hope to find out even more," said Will. His tone wasn't romantic: it was more like faintly sardonic, but she liked that. She liked _him_. She thought, idly, that she was pretty close to loving him too.

"So do I," said Lizzy. She smiled, and he smiled, and she thought about how that seemed like his happiness was linked to hers. It was worlds away from the antagonism of their first meeting. "So do I."

* * *

A few weeks after the wedding, Lizzy was in Will's flat as he went over notes for a presentation he was making next week. She was sorting through photographs from Jane and Charlie's wedding and spinning on one of his fancy kitchen island stools.

She paused her spinning when she saw one of the venue. She was suddenly seized by a mad urge to say something reckless.

"Do you remember that day when we toured venues?"

"Of course," said Will.

Lizzy hummed and continued to stare casually at the photo. "What was that country house called? The last place we went to?"

"Gardiner House," said Will promptly, his eyes never leaving the colourful flashcards Lizzy was pretty sure he'd stolen from her stationery hoard.

"Wow," she said, throwing down the photo. "I was playing it cool by pretending not to remember, but you just… said it outright."

He looked up, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I'd hope you would remember it," he said. "For future reference."

Lizzy felt her heart skip a beat. "For future reference," she repeated dumbly.

"Yes," he said, calm as anything. "Unless you've changed your mind about liking it?"

"No," she said softly. "My mind's pretty much made up."

* * *

 **A/N: Endless thanks for reading, again. And I'm loversinfiniteness on Tumblr!**

 **Edit 9/4: sly promo for my new fic, a definitely mad reality dating show Austen crossover called _Down the Isle._ Read it if you dare. **


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